Slovakia opens account with win over Switzerland

Goals and assists

9. Bardos (Paulik, T. Müller) – 18. Mráz (Salajka, Stümpel), 20. Martinusík (Pisarovič), 27. Martinusík (Pisarovič)

Referees

Jonák, Záhora

Spectators

847

Switzerland

Brodard - Eberle, Grandjean, Hlubek, Iten, Mermoud, Y. Müller, Rebord, Rodrigues Soares - Bardos, Enzler, Fairclough, Filipek, Hausherr, Lartey, Mballa, K. Müller, M. Müller, T. Müller, Paulik, Rohdewald, A. Wehrli, N. Wehrli

Slovakia

Surák - Dubeň, I. Gajdoš, Kozák, Lopušan, Mikula, Revaj, Salajka, Stümpel, Šulik - Balát, Benko, Hryzák, Klema, Korbáš, Lipiansky, Martinusík, Mráz, Olejník, Piják, Pisarovič, Straka, Šatka

COACHES´ REACTIONS

Tibor Kapanek (SUI): "We started the game pretty well and put pressure on our opponents. We scored one goal and had chances to score more. The opposing coaches must have had a pep talk after the first period, and we saw that the Slovaks started playing more aggressively, closing in on us, moving the play from side to side more quickly, and we started making a few mistakes. The second period sealed our defeat, but the tournament is just getting started. We’ll definitely do our absolute best to be ready again for the playoffs on Friday—we might face Slovakia again. We could have scored more goals during our long power play, and early in the second period we had a breakaway where we missed the net on a shot from the slot. We have to give credit to the Slovaks—they scored more goals and deserved to win. Our federation faced major financial problems, but we managed to weather the storm, and 95 percent of the players who advanced to the semifinals for the first time in history at the last World Championship made the trip here. This year, we’re determined to confirm our place among the very best."

Milan Rampacek:: "I wasn’t happy about our five-minute penalty in the first period, but hats off to the team for holding them off on the power play—except for that one goal—and ultimately turning the game around. That penalty is water under the bridge for me now; we won 3–1 and we’re moving on. The game didn’t go exactly as I’d hoped—there were quite a few mistakes, but we’ll go over them all on video. There were also a number of positive aspects to the game, and we still need to work on our power plays. The guys showed character by sticking with Šimon Lopušan, who made a “silly mistake” in the first period; we kept possession of the puck well and managed to turn the game around. You can really see the excellent work Tibor Kapanek is doing with the Swiss team. They’re improving with every championship; they’re fast, aggressive, play excellent power plays, and it’s tough to play against them. It’s not like it used to be, when we used to beat the Swiss easily."